Saturday, July 1

I don't watch football. In fact, I'm not really that passionate about what I call "regular" sport. I don't think I have the time or inclination to do so.

However, like many others I imagine, watching England in a major tournament always gets me. Whether they do well or, as is usually the case, badly I seem to regularly get emotionally caught up in the drama they typically provide.

Perhaps it's just pure bandwagon jumping or just a front or just me fooling myself. But the near-tears (since I don't cry) of joy and sadness, the loss of breath when they create a good chance to score and that pain when they lose on penalties all feel real enough.

It may even be a stronger affinity than that with the Pakistan Cricket Team[1], but then again I may not be in a state of mind right now to make that comparison.

[1] Like many others I support England in the football and Pakistan in the cricket. Just this week, a work mate didn't seem to get that. He asked me to rationalise the disparity, to which I replied that I didn't consider fandom a particularly rational idea so couldn't really; that it just is. Even if Pakistan had a good football team I reckon I'd still back England (in that sport), so it's not about default choices as some seem to imply. It's just the way it is, and not something that should require justification (even though, in this case, it can probably be put down to culture and association. But don't tell my work mate that). Take that, Tebbit.